Sunday, August 30, 2015

According to Andrew Garfield, he also wanted Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In an interview with Uproxx, Garfield hinted that was something that he was pushing for, but essentially the studio would not agree to do it! He also stated that he is happy for "fill in the blank white actor" who now has the role and he is excited to see what happens with the character!

I'm sorry but I'm not buying this at all! Not that Andrew Garfield is or ever will be an A list movie star, but he could've exerted some pressure on Sony to make a deal with Marvel before he took the role! If he really wanted that to happen, he could have negotiated before signing onto the movie and if he felt passionate enough about it, he coulda forced Sony's hand because at the time, they had no one else in mind for that role as they had locked onto Garfield early in the process. Or he coulda just not took it and left Sony twisting in the wind to find his replacement.

Also, after the first movie was tepidly received by fans (and I'm being kind), he could've asked for changes especially after he saw the script for Amazing Spider-Man 2, which was God awful! At this point, he is the star of the franchise and the sequel would not move forward without him. He could've asked for changes or renegotiated and Sony was not in a position to say no and we all would be been saved from that movie!

The reality is Andrew Garfield is trying to keep his "geek cred"! This is not.uncommon for Hollywood folk to do after a geek centric movies fails! Blame the studio, blame the writers, blame the advertisers- but take none of the blame yourself for the shit you signed off on, starred in, and took a fat check for! The reality is that Andrew Garfield cares nothing for Peter Parker or Spider-Man and had no skins in if the movie failed or succeeded! And that is ok ! But don't come back later and try to convince us that you tried.to stop that hot mess but couldn't! I ain't buying that!

Friday, August 28, 2015

I have been trying to stay away from the hype on this new Star Wars movie for alot of reasons. Reason 1, I am not the JJ Abrams fan boy that most people are. I like his movies and I really liked what he did with the reboot of Star Trek but overall, I think he is kinda an overrated director and most of his projects are just ok.

Reason 2, I got burned on the prequels. My hype level for the Phantom Menace was beyond measure and logic. I was teaching back then and I actually left work on my lunch break to go to Wal Mart and buy toys for the movie. Then when tickets went on sale, I bought mine early and was so freaked out that someone was gonna break in and steal them from me, I hid them in my Bible- thinking even thieves wouldn't steal from the Bible.

When Phantom came out, my hypeness didn't allow me to see and recognize that it was a bad movie either. I overlooked racist Jar Jar Binks, the terrible dialogue, and that boring as plot about trade routes. Only George Lucas could make Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, and Liam Neeson into bad actors and I defended that movie to everyone( including Female Perspective who hated it from the jump). I even had a bootleg copy after it came out from Turkey with English subtitles that I bought at the Swap Shop in Ft Lauderdale. I was all in on the prequels.

But with age comes maturity and seeing that movie and then seeing Attack of the Clone( which I argue is the worst of the 6 movies) at midnight and falling asleep during it, turned me off from the prequels. Yeah, Revenge of the Sith is the best of the bunch of the new ones but its still not great either so forgive me if I am a bit gun shy about these new movies.

I worry about the mixing of the old and new characters. I worry that I wont give a shit about these new people because I have no reason to care about them. We are starting from scratch and that is kinda scary to me. Maybe Abrams can pull it off and get a new generation of kids to love and care about these new Star Wars but I kinda have my doubts.

I really hope I'm wrong. The new clips kinda get me hyped and seeing a black dude with a lightsaber does make get into my feelings a bit! I told the Mrs. I wasn't gonna spend out of savings on new action figures for this movie. I sure hope I can keep that promise.

We are really looking forward to this series here at brothascomics. Luke Cage has been a favorite for Big Hutch and I and if Netflix puts the same effort and energy they did into Daredevil, they will have a real cross over hit on their hand.

Jessica Jones will introduce him and his solo series will follow later. Plot seems to follow close to his comic book history with him volunteering for an experiment and getting his powers while in jail for crimes he committed.

I'm excited and 2016 is setting up to be a big year for comic characters in the movies and on the small screen!

Monday, August 24, 2015

Brothascomics was joined by a special guest this week on our Podcast- comedian, actor, and Army Veteran Mystro Clark. Mystro is family to us and he joined us to discuss how he came up in the comedy game from Dayton, Ohio, touring on Def Comedy Jam, living with Chris Tucker, what really went down on Soul Train, and how he left entertainment to reenlist in the Army.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Lando and his crew don't know it yet, but the ship they stole in issue 1 belongs to Emperor Palpatine and he is very interested in getting it back.

The issue picks up as Lando is attempting to get away and jump into hyperspace with the ship, The Imperialis, that they had stolen for the Crime Boss, Papa Toren. This was to be a quick, easy job that would wipe out the debt Lando owed so he and Lobot could start fresh.

But the life of a hustler and his crew is never easy. Once they attempt the make the jump into hypserspace, 3 Imperial Star Destroyers appear with the attempts to capture the ship.

Lando, ever the entrepreneur, does not see this as a problem. Lando figures if the Empire wants the ship back that badly, then it must be worth a fortune. Lando's crew, on the other hand, definitely sees this as a problem and Lando has to convince them that if the Empire wanted them dead, they would have just fired upon them and killed them. He figures either the ship or whats on the ship is super valuable which is why the Empire is attempting to capture them.

As the Star Destroyers align their tractor beams to capture the ship, Lando uses a maneuver he must have learned when he was captain of the Millennium Falcon, and he is able to steer clear of the tractor beams and the Star Destroyers collide into one another as Lando and his crew make the jump to hyperspace.

Meanwhile at the Inner Rim, a bounty hunter named Chanath Cha is making a routine collection for a client when he receives a call that he cannot refuse.

Palpatine explains to Chanath that one of his ships has been stolen from and he would very much like to get it back and only a bounty hunter with his level of skill can make that happen for him.

Back on the Imperialis, Lando and his crew begin to explore the ship and its artifacts searching for the treasure that must be on the ship. As Lobot comes across a locked panel, he logs into the computers system to unlock the door and does find and unexpected surprise!

Issue 2 builds upon the mystery that is the Imperialis. It will be interesting to see what is on the ship that is so important to Palpatine. I like how the book plays on Lando's past as a hustler, but it also paints him as an intelligent person, who makes questionable decisions at times, I think all men can relate to that!

This book was delayed by a couple of weeks, but it is back on schedule and issue 3 will be out this Wednesday. Look for a review shortly after.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

This relaunch/redesign of Archie kicks off with two recurring themes from many Archie comics- Archie needs money and Archie working a wide variety of jobs and being a terrible worker. The biggest twist in this standard go to Archie moment is that Jughead's family history is finally revealed. You see, Jughead was born Forsythe P. Jones and his family was very wealthy. So wealthy kids would fight to go to his birthday parties.

Sadly, his dad made a bad investment in "Purejug" a water bottling plant and lost their family fortune and this led to Forsythe getting his nickname Jughead that has stuck with him forever.

So Jughead hates money and all it represents. But Archie needs a job and money to help fix his car. Its in bad shape and Betty usually fixes it, but they are not talking since the "Lipstick Incident"! If you have read Archie for any amount of time, its well established that Archie is quite clumsy and accident prone. Its why whenever he does gets a job, he messes it up and is fired routinely. This new Archie plays to that history wonderfully. Archie takes a construction job at the new Lodge Plant that is being built. The Riverdale Gang knows Archie is going to get himself killed on a construction site so they all take jobs to save Archie from himself.

Eventually Archie blows it and causes a huge accident that gets him fired. He first has to clean up the mess he has made because even though he is a clutz, Archie is still responsible. Of course, this is Archie. As he is cleaning, he spots a limo pulling up to the mansion being built behind the factory and out steps Mr. Lodge and......

Veronica finally makes her appearance and she looks great of course. Archie has "love at first sight" but being Archie, he accidentally sets off a Bulldozer and it screams down a hill and crashes and destroys the new Lodge Mansion! Mr. Lodge doesn't see who did it, but this wont be the first time he suspects a certain redhead may have destroyed something valuable to him.

Meanwhile, its Betty's birthday and she does not feel like celebrating! Her new friend, Trevor is visiting and he suspects he has what will cheer Betty up and make her forget about, Lil Archie! It doesn't go well..

Ima not talk about her rejecting the black guy...

Trevor's sister tells Betty she has to get ready for this party and she needs to forget about Archie. And Betty does her best to get ready and make herself look nice for the party. Hell, Betty even put her weave in( excuse white people call them extensions).!

Yet, this is not Betty Cooper, or at least not the Betty Cooper she is comfortable with. Betty Cooper fixes things, not herself and the book ends with Betty making a wish while looking at Archie whose car has been mysteriously fixed.

Not gonna lie... I love this book! I know some Twitter Archie people don't like it and think its too all new and all different but at its heart, its not. Its an updated, nod to Classic Archie. Yes, the plotlines are a bit more dramatic, but the characters are true to their originals and have even more depth with their history! I was skeptical at first, but these 2 issues have won me over big time!
-The Producer

Thursday, August 20, 2015

We are still almost a year away from this movie but the leaks keep coming. The actor who played Zod in Man of Steel, confirmed that he would be in Batman V Superman- which would not be news at all because you clearly see his body in the body bag in the trailer released at comic con. The bigger news is that the actor confirmed that he was fitted for "Wax flippers" on his hands and legs filming his scenes for the movie. This has led to massive speculation that Zod will somehow be playing Doomsday in the movie as the "big bad" that brings the Trinity of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman together and begins the formation of the Justice League.

Werd? This is the DC'iest moves of all DC moves. This coming from the comic book company that allowed Supergirl to kick the moon out of orbit in a fight with Enchantress( as if that would not affect the earth). Shout out to Sanders for the reminder!

Look, my side eye for DC is well known, but also well earned. The closer and closer we get to this movie, the more concerned I am about it. Lets take out all the technical movie concerns such as the huge cast, the plot, and the run time of the movie-which I would say has to be over t3 hours at this point in the editing process. From a straight comic book movie perspective, how much sense does Doomsday make for the franchise moving forward? DC seems hard pressed to make sure Doomsday is in this movie. So do they kill Superman because that is the true and only point for having Doomsday in any movie? Well you would assume that is not going to happen based upon the Justice League movies that are being released. And if you use Doomsday here-one of the few villains who is strong enough to fight and kill Superman and fight against the Justice League, where does that leave you when you do make the Justice League movie? Brainiac, I guess? But that only gets you through the 1st Justice League movie! You still have the sequel, with no real villain on the horizon that would make a credible threat to the Justice League. This just reeks of DC's short sightedness and Zack Snyder's thirstiness to make things look cool and give people what he thinks they want without caring for the consequences of the franchise moving forward.

DC has so much riding on this movie and they are pushing all their chips in. Its a gamble but if you give people too much, there will be no reason for fans to come back for a sequel because you gave us everything in the first movie. This reminds me of Fox forcing Dr. Doom into every Fantastic Four movie instead of building up to Doom. Use minor other characters and plot to build to your "Big Bad". Leave the audience wanting more, not less( See Avengers 2).

Everything I have thought about this movie since it was announced has come true. Its going to be a crazy long, over hyped, plotless, Zack Snyder jizz fest. It will have DC fan boys all hyped up and they will defend it to the end no matter how bad it actually is( see Man of Steel). And it will make money but not enough money to justify the sequels that its supposed to spawn in its wake. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm probably not!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Things were flying fast and furious when this information was dropped a couple of weeks ago and I definitely wanted to comment on this.

Bad Boys 3 and 4
So Sony drops news that not only will there be Bad Boys 3, there would be a Bad Boys 4. The early leak on the information was that both Martin Lawrence and Will Smith would be back in the movies; although Michael Bay, who directed the 1st two movies, would not be back in the directors chair. More recent news has Will Smith possibly just being a producer on these projects but not actually starring in the movies.Will Smith not starring in Bad Boys 3 and 4?

There is so much to dive into about this. First off, Bad Boys 2 was not a good movie. Look, we don't look for Michael Bay movies to be "good" in the traditional sense. Its pure popcorn entertainment where you can turn off your brain for a couple hours and just be entertained. The problem with Bad Boys 2 is that it took the black, buddy cop movie, and turned it into a vulgar perversion of the 1st movie.

The 1st Bad Boys was revolutionary in modern movies where you had two black leads star in an action flick. The 80's are full up buddy copy flicks with black and white characters but Bad Boys gave us two black leads and I remember seeing it and being in awe that this movie actually got made! And not only was it made, it was actually good! Its funny, has great action, and a plot- something unheard of in Michael Bay pictures now! The idea that there could be another Bad Boys, let alone two more, is unbelievable to me- even with Hollywood's lack of new ideas.

But the bigger picture is why would Will Smith do this movie? We all know Martin need checks! People forget that when that first Bad Boys came out in 1995, Martin was the bigger star. His TV show was a hit for Fox and he had been in Boomerang a few years before and his star was on the rise! And even after Bad Boys, he had some big hits with Big Mommas House( not debating quality here, just box office), and Life. Sadly that incident in LA where he lost his mind stopped him from being able to get consistent jobs and checks and people kinda turned on Martin. Now, Martin pops up here and there in movies and TV shows but he is not a star anymore. So Martin doing Bad Boys 3 and 4 makes perfect sense to me. Its comfortable and should be an easy money maker for him.

Name at top left tells you who the "star" is

Will Smith on the other hand.... When the first Bad Boys came out, he was starting to emerge into the star that he would eventually become. And you can see it in Bad Boys. All that charm, personality, and wit exudes from him in every scene! Bad Boys sends Will Smith over the top into the sci-fi/action superstar of a generation and he eventually becomes the biggest star in Hollywood. Bad Boys 2 was made at a time when Will Smith could do no wrong, really. Most everything he touched turned to gold and there become this sense of arrogance and invulnerability about his work and projects. He strings together a six picture run from 2004-2008 that I would rival against any movie stars 4 year run. He has huge hits with Hitch, I Robot, Shark Tale, The Pursuit of Happiness, Hancock, and I am Legend. He scores an Oscar nomination in that run and cements his status as the number 1 box office draw in the world.

You can imagine a bit of ego slips into the mind and the thought that anything I touch is gonna hit! And Will Smith, like many before him, fell into that trap of chasing Oscar gold and made Seven Pounds! That one flop but a little chink in his armor and it scared him, too because he ran right back to a comfort movie and did Men in Black 3 which is terrible and that was followed up by the disastrous After Earth. That 3 picture run took some of the arrogance away but also took away some of what made Will Smith special. At his height, Will Smith could make mediocre projects better just by his presence. Now, Will Smith very much feels like Tiger Woods- We keep waiting for the magic and the dominance to return but maybe its just not there anymore. He had( I guess) a minor hit with Focus. This summer he will be " one of the stars" of Suicide Squad, and he keeps up the Oscar chase with the football movie Concussion. This all to be followed( maybe) by Bad Boys 3 and 4. Werd?

It makes me start to think Will needs checks, too! Not like Martin needs checks ,but needs checks to prove to himself that he is still a star checks! His buddy Tom Cruise still does this. He makes movies all the time but for the most part-outside of Mission Impossible, nobody gives a fuck anymore! But Cruise still gets to cash those checks and it makes him still feel like an A list movie star when he isn't anymore! And sadly, I think that is where we are with Will Smith now! He was the star in Hollywood that people could count on! Now it seems his career is in a minor tailspin with him putting out movies that people lightweight reject, but giving them sequels to previous hits to maintain his status as a movie star!

I hope I'm wrong! I hope these movies aren't just money grabs because him and Jada about to divorce, or needing extra money to support his kids music/acting/philosophy careers. I been a Will Smith fan from his days as a Philly Rapper, to the Fresh Prince of Bel Aire! Hell, I saw Wild Wild West in the theaters... at night! Hopefully, he can move past this and take his throne at the top of the movie industry because the world is a better and safer place when Will Smith is on top of his game!

Saturday, August 15, 2015

I am going to use this post as an excuse to show off my kids! But also as a economic reality check for Blerd dads. For those of you who don't know, when you have kids, it changes everything. People say that and its true. It changes how you eat, how you sleep, how you plan, how you work.... There is no portion of life where your kids don't change you! That is especially true when it comes to your recreation cash flow and your free time.

You see before I had kids, I was an avid collector of comics! I don't have any other real vices, so comics was my way of being a kid still and my way to escape from all the shit adulthood throws at you( marriage, bills, work, etc). My pull box at Tate's Comics was always full on Wednesday with tons of Xmen comics, Spiderman, Avengers, Iron-Man... you get the picture. Just as an estimate, I would say I was spending close to $70/month on my monthly books( not counting limited series). Let alone long and short boxes to store them and bags and boards. Comics were a true passion and new comic book Wednesday was like a weekly, religious holiday for me.

But, like most couples, after we got married, we got pregnant and slowly but surely, even before my boy was born, things started to change. Money that I wanted to spend on comics, had to go to paint for the baby room, cribs, diaper genies, and changing tables. My pull box shrank. I rationalized and said, "ok. I will just cut out solo books." No more Captain America or Iron Man or Wolverine," I said. " But I will keep Spider-Man. " But later we had to buy sheets, rocking chairs, and breast pumps. My pull box began to shrink even more. "Ok, I'm just gonna get X-men books but only Uncanny and X-men. No more X-Factor or Excalibur!" And the books I did get, wound up in unread stacks because my free time was replaced by chores and "honey do" lists to get done before the baby arrived.

Then the baby was born. He is/was such a sweet kid! But that sweet kid ate all the time. Formula costs mad money and diapers ain't cheap either. That's not counting all those baby visits to the DR. Days started to run together because of lack of sleep and Tate's Comics would have to call me to tell me my books had come in!Plus our income got cut because my wife took maternity for 6 months after he was born. So when he was around 6 months old, I stopped collecting. I boxed up all my long boxes and placed them in the attic where all things go to die!

Over time, I would just collect Wizard Magazine to see what was going on in comics. Like a junkie, I would still stop at the store and look around and smell the books, but not buy anything. My boy, Aaron, bought me the Marvel on line subscription for Christmas one year and that helped but I still cant get down with reading comics on the computer. Just as things were getting back into balance, of course we got pregnant again and the whole process went into repeat. In case you don't know, day care is exspensive as hell and it was cheaper for us to just have my wife stay home and not work. She did that for five years! So I didn't actually buy comics for close to six years. I lived on old Archie Digests, Wizards, and when I could, sneaks into the attic to read back issues!

What finally got me back on the wagon, besides my wife going back to work, was Free Comic Book Day! Being the good dad that I am, I raised my kids right and they love comics; although my son likes DC more than I am comfortable with. We are 5 year veterans of Free Comic Book Day. We wake up early and we are the 1st in line at our store(some 3 hours before the store opens). Free Comic Book Day reignited my interest in books and now I could share it with my kids which makes it all the more special.

So to all the new dad's or soon to be dads, get ready! Life as you know it is over. Comics are going to have to take a back seat for a while, but it's okay. Be patient and just wait a few years! Read your back issues to them everynight, and wait for Free Comic Book Day to get your fix!

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Podcast 8 we review the Fantastic Four movie moments after we saw it. We pour some out for Fox and the homies who paid full price for this movie. We discuss where the franchise goes from here and how long before Marvel get their property back. We also talk about Ben Affleck and his new Batman deal and Straight out of Compton opening wide next week and now rappers now are on AARP. We hold back on STFU awards but discuss policing in the United States in light of another unarmed black man killed this week.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Miss Piggy and Kermit called it quits after 40 years of togetherness. However, Kermit confessed that Miss Piggy made his life a bacon wrapped hell!, I am laughing as I am typing this! LOL Kermit has not given specifics as to why the relationship ended. However, there were indications that this was brewing for quite some time. It seems as if he has moved on with a Miss Piggy look-a-like named Denise. However, Denise is rubbing Miss Piggy the wrong way. Miss Piggy already pushed Denise out of the way when taking a selfie with another muppet named Janet, just to get the best camera angle.

Kermit and Miss Piggy are currently working together on the Muppets ABC series coming out this fall. It will be interesting to see how these two interact on this series. Miss Piggy states that she has no problem working with her ex. Her statement, dating moi is like flying close to the sun," "It was inevitable that Kermit would drop down to the ground while I stayed in the heavens."

While Miss Piggy and Kermit were a big part of my youth and I still love them both. It will be interesting to see the direction The Muppets take with this new dynamic. Although, I am sad about their split, I look forward to their future endeavors as separate entities, who knows, maybe there is a reconciliation in the future.

Based on the reviews thus far, it looks like The Fantastic Four reboot is not doing well with the critics, it has a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently this is not the movie that the director meant for the public to see. In reading the statement from director Josh Trank, he said that he was not responsible for the final cut of the film, therefore, the movie that was distributed was not the one he intended to make. He stated that “A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would’ve received
great reviews,” “You’ll
probably never see it. That’s reality though.” It sounds like his creative control was usurped by the studio and he is not happy about it.

Trank was scheduled to do a Star Wars spinoff film for Disney, however, he has left that project. He said his departure was because he needed a break from high profile movies. His statement, “I want to do something original after this because I’ve been living
under public scrutiny, as you’ve seen, for the last four years of my
life,” he said. “And it’s not healthy for me right now in my life. I
want to do something that is below the radar.” There was speculation that he was fired from the Star Wars project due to erratic behavior on the set of Fantastic Four. However, he emphatically denies this and states that this has all been spun in malicious way. Whatever really happened, it sounds like there is a lot of bad blood between Trank and the studio, which probably will not bode well for him with future projects. It is a shame, because I would like to see the movie that he intended to director instead of the one that the studio put out for distribution. The budget was $120 million and expectation at box office is $40 million.

I was silently rooting for this Fantastic Four, because the other movie versions had a lot of potential but floundered it. However, not just for that reason, also due to the fact that this movie received so much flack for replacing the Human Touch with an African American actor (Michael B. Jordan), there were a lot of people who wrote it off for that reason alone. So, henceforth, I wanted it to succeed. It doesn't look like that will be accomplished with this movie. Unfortunately, it will probably be blamed on that reason alone, the replacement of a character that was white in the comic books with a black actor. A lot of people just couldn't handle that. That speaks to where we are as a society, sad but true!